Exiled Journalist Warns Brazil Against Adopting El Salvador's Bukele Model

Carlos Dada, the cofounder of the newspaper El Faro, has expressed concern over Brazilian presidential precandidates and business leaders who cite the Bukele model of El Salvador as a solution for combating organized crime. Speaking during the Festival Piauí de Jornalismo in Sao Paulo, Dada described the model as a system of mass detentions and restrictions of rights. He noted that the security forces in El Salvador can perform arbitrary arrests without judicial orders or formal accusations, sometimes citing reasons as simple as a suspect appearing nervous.

Dada argued that the high profile Cecot megaprisão serves as a curated image of order that hides a broader reality. He stated that most detainees are sent to other prisons where access is denied to families and lawyers. According to Dada, the current regime of exception has led to systematic torture and over 400 deaths, with many victims buried in common graves. He also alleged that the Bukele government made pacts with local gangs to reduce homicide rates.

Regarding the scale of incarceration, Dada pointed out that one in 50 citizens is imprisoned in El Salvador. He warned that if Brazil were to imitate this model, its prison population could rise to 4 million people, significantly increasing its current population of nearly 1 million prisoners. Both reports highlight that Dada's own newspaper had to leave El Salvador after facing pressure and persecution.